U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,777 discloses an intake arrangement for an internal combustion engine in a portable handheld work apparatus. An air filter is provided in a filter housing for purifying the combustion air. Unfiltered air is conveyed through an opening into the filter housing by the cooling blower of the engine and is moved along the air filter. The carburetor of the engine is connected to the clean air side of the filter housing and the engine draws dust-free combustion air into a combustion chamber of the engine via the air filter. When an intensely dirty ambient is present as is often the case for cutoff machines, the dust, which is contained in the air, deposits on the air filter and quickly clogs the same. For this reason, the power developed by the engine is affected. The large dust load of the air filter requires frequent cleaning so that a maintenance intensive operation of the engine results.